36 GIS IN ACTION City of San Diego, California, Takes Enterprise Management to the Field Implementing an Integrated Esri/SAP System Highlights n The city is carrying out asset management activities in the field with SAP’s Mobile Infrastructure module, ArcGIS Server, and ArcGIS Mobile. n Combining Esri and SAP, the city anticipates a more efficient future with improved records management. n The city has decided to extend its Esri and SAP integrated system to other departments and divisions. For years, government agencies across San Diego County, California, have been at the forefront of using GIS to better serve their communities. In 1999, the Street Division of the City of San Diego’s General Services Department pioneered the implementation of an integrated Esri/SAP system called SYNERGY. What started as a system for asset and work management in a single city division has now grown into a large integrated system that is being used by other city divisions and departments. The City of San Diego is located in Southern California and is the eighth largest city in the United States. The city’s economy is largely supported by dynamic modern industries. Growing from the city’s world-renowned academic institutions are biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics development and manufacturing, and software development that have helped diversify the city’s economic base. Those industries join defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship repair and construction, telecommunications, agriculture, and tourism to form the core of the city’s economy and employment base. Even as the city copes with the impact of the global financial crisis, maintaining the infrastructure serving these businesses while also supporting the needs of city residents has remained a priority for the city’s mayor, Jerry Sanders. “When I took office, the city didn’t have a good inventory of its asset management needs,” says Sanders. “We knew we needed to get a better handle on our tracking systems and the way we managed our asset data. Thankfully, we had some forward-thinking team members who were ready to accept my call for greater accountability and efficiency.” Intranet Empowers Employees Initially, Project SYNERGY helped city employees track asset locations and the status of service requests using an intranet application. The project was completed with the development of a work management interface. GIS capabilities allowed users to quickly locate work order sites, track work order status, and perform spatial queries to create digital maps. As one example, an employee in the Water Utilities Division could locate a work request sent to the Street Division on a digital map, then click on the work site icon to view related information and completion status. Internet Serves Citizens Employees also provide online customer service to citizens using advanced GIS Internet applications. This advanced system allows citizens to report infrastructure issues and problems to the city throughout the day, helping staff keep task lists and job priorities current. Users have the option of locating assets by address, ZIP Code, ArcGIS Server Mobile VPN Server SAP MI ArcSDE Technology SAP R/3 www GeoMAM SAP MAM GIS-MAM Connector ArcGIS Mobile GIS Data Cache AT&T The City of San Diego’s Geo Mobile Asset Management (GeoMAM) application (see technical sidebar below) integrates Esri’s ArcGIS Mobile with SAP’s Mobile Infrastructure (MI) module to facilitate enterprise asset management (EAM) in the field. or community. After an asset of work concern is located on the digital map, users can pull down a menu to request service and add additional information. The system then provides a service notification number that can be used to check the status of the request. Once the work order is complete, a status update is automatically sent to the citizen via e-mail. Customer service representatives answering calls from citizens also use GIS to verify the asset’s location before generating work orders. Sweeping Changes with GPS In 2003, GPS devices were added to the city’s street sweepers, allowing their routing and operations to be managed by the integrated system. This system allows the city’s Storm Water Department, responsible for sweeper operations, to capture and retain information such as the date and time that specific locations were swept, where and when the sweeper brushes were lowered and raised, where and when water was applied to assist the sweeping, Field Enterprise Asset Management for City of San Diego A Portable Mapcentric Asset Management Application Highlights n The integrated enterprise Esri/SAP system reduces the time to address issues reported by citizens. n The GeoMAM application enables workers to create new service requests in the field. n Work orders assigned to Public Works staff are viewed and responded to directly from the field. The City of San Diego’s Geo Mobile Asset Management (GeoMAM) application integrates Esri’s ArcGIS Mobile with SAP’s Mobile Infrastructure (MI) module to facilitate enterprise asset management (EAM) in the field. GeoMAM was designed to be a portable, mapcentric asset management application that would provide field staff with real-time access to the integrated enterprise Esri and SAP system to reduce the time taken to address issues reported by citizens. SAP MI facilitates the communication between the mobile device and the enterprise SAP system, while ArcGIS Mobile provides access to the enterprise GIS based on ArcGIS Server. This communication is streamlined by a VPN connection between the mobile device and enterprise systems via AT&T’s broadband cellular networks. Potential disruption in the left panel. Clicking the Zoom To button centers the map on the location of the work order and selects the equipment associated with the work order. The Display button presents additional work order information by replacing the map with the relevant SAP MI screen. Users can also update work orders with the SAP MI interface if they have the necessary privileges. All work order updates done by users in the field are transmitted back to the enterprise SAP system immediately. Conversely, any new work orders created in the enterprise SAP system are added to a user’s list of open work orders immediately after they are created. Integration with SAP Mobile Infrastructure allows users to update work orders directly from the field. Details of the work carried out in the field and the time taken to resolve the problem can be recorded and posted to the enterprise EAM system directly from the field. The status of the work order can also be updated by the field crew. The GeoMAM application also enables users while in the field to create new service requests (notifications) for city assets by locating and selecting them on the map and clicking the Create button available under the GIS MAM menu option. This capability reduces the time it takes city staff to report and record issues with city assets. broadband connection is handled by ensuring the use of data cached on the mobile device. The application has been deployed on ruggedized laptops that are connected to the city’s enterprise systems over wireless broadband data networks. GeoMAM Application The user interface of the GeoMAM application is simple to use. Users log in to the application using their SAP login credentials and are presented with a list of work orders that have been assigned to them. Geographic locations of the Both images: A new service request to fix a pothole in the selected street segment. work orders are displayed on the map in the right panel of the application. Standard map navigation and other GIS tools, such as Zoom In, Zoom Out, Pan, Identify, and Select, are available above the map display area. Users have the option to view the location and select the asset (piece of equipment) associated with a work order by clicking on it in the list of work orders. Tools for zooming to the location of the work order or viewing additional information related to the work order are available at the bottom of the